An Unexpected Kind of Love is a short and sweet love story between an American actor in London for a movie and a British bookseller who’s struggling shop is being used for a set. This book is perfect for fans of Kerry Winfrey’s Waiting for Tom Hanks and Alexis Hall’s Boyfriend Material! I seriously enjoyed this book and read it in one sitting. It was fast paced as Aubrey and Blake fell in love quickly. I wish we learned more about Aubrey and his mother and the fate of his bookshop at the end but it was a cute story for sure.

I absolutely enjoyed this book! The grump/sunshine relationship trope is one of my favorites and seeing it between a bookseller and an actor was really fun to see. This book had incredibly sweet moments along with some very real ones, and while it was a fast read, you really feel for the characters and they grow on you really quickly. Highly recommend this book!

I hate to be that person who starts a review off with "This book had so much potential." but I am... This had great potential but that is pretty much it. This is told solely from the perspective of Aubrey, a surly, grumpy British man who owns a failing bookstore in London. He meets an American actor named Blake who is filming in the area. Blake is a very one dimensional character for most of the book as his character isn't much delved into. He is attractive and good in bed and that is about the level of information we know about him. I wanted more.

When the production company working on the film Blake is in comes to the bookstore asking for permission to use it for filming, the two end up getting to know each other more. That was pretty much the whole book. Aubrey is very curmudgeon-y throughout the whole book. He is struggling with the failing bookstore and his never ending of shortfalls that he sees in himself.

I didn't much care for on of the two major conflicts between Aubrey and Blake. The first conflict was very one-sided. Blake gets upset with Aubrey for something that Blake, in the same conversation, reveals that he is kind of doing as well all revolving around others knowing (or not knowing in this case) about the relationship. The second major conflict was much more valid and understandable.

I will say that the big ending scene was adorable and just what I needed to end the story. This had all the makings of a really great book. If the characters had been better developed and the story-line more polished this could have been a five star read for me. It just wasn't there for me.

I really loved this book. I love an opposites attract love story. Aubrey, the bookstore owner, and Blake, the movie star. They have kind of a whirlwind romance as Blake is in town shooting a movie. It's steamy and sweet. They both discover things they need to let go of and move on from. It was funny and charming. The only draw back for me is that I wish it had been dual perspective. We get everything from Aubrey's POV. I would have liked to get inside Blake's head. Loved this story, can't wait to read more from this author.

Aubrey is a grumpy bookshop owner from London, Blake is an American rising star from Hollywood. They bump into each other three times in one day and the third time is a charm for them. Sparks start to fly as the two are drawn towards each other. I loved this book, The way things started out for Aubrey and Blake was cute. I like all the characters but i relate to Aubrey the most, a book lover who can't believe someone like Blake could ever like him and his grumpy ways remind me of myself. This book had me from the start and I didn't wanna let it go, it's just sad that the book had to end. This was my first book by Hayden Stone and i doubt it'll be my last. This romcom is a must read, in my opinion.

A huge thank you to Entangled Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I had a good time reading this book! It was a quick and entertaining read that I feel like fellow bookworms and lovers of queer romances will enjoy! There were mentions of my fave queer books like The Song of Achilles, RWRB and Boyfriend Material and of one of my fave films, Maurice, as well!

This follows the POV of Aubrey Barnes, owner of Barnes Books (and no, not Barnes & Noble HAHA) and his relationship with up and coming C-List actor, Blake Sinclair, as he’s in London for a shooting of a romcom movie he’s acting in and in which some scenes will be shot at the bookstore.

The grumpy/sunshine, opposites attract, (almost) forbidden love romance between Aubrey and Blake is just the CUTEST! Though it was insta-love and started off steamy from the get go, I liked that it gave more page time for their relationship to fully flourish and develop! I enjoyed seeing Aubrey go from “nervous wreck and meticulous” to opening up and showing more of his fun, witty self around Blake! They had the best dates to be honest and their banter and chemistry was just spot on. I also really appreciated how steamy this was! Their emotional connection made them much more intense!

The side characters were so lovable especially Lily and Gemma! I thought they were such great, funny and supportive friends of Aubrey! The sideplot with Aubrey’s ex and Blake’s family really added a strong conflict to the story!

My only issue with this has to be how easily the conflict was solved, I wished there was more angst! Also, Aubrey’s mom was mentioned a lot and supposedly to have a big involvement with the family bookstore but her role in the story was never explored so it just left me curious about her.

Overall, this was british romcom done so well! I really enjoyed the fast-paced, light hearted feel to the story and it gives off Notting Hill vibes with a MLM romance! I highly recommend this stunning debut!

This was a fun and entertaining story, which started out very strong, but waned after the half-way mark for me.

As the story began, book shop owner Aubrey was a bit of a complainer, not super-likeable, and came off as snobby, but I still liked him and his snarky take on things.

Then we met American actor Blake, who had a thing for gruff, opinionated book sellers, or at least one of them. He seemed nice and sweet and the fact that he was hotter than the London heat wave didn't hurt, either.

I thoroughly enjoyed their meeting and getting to know you phase; however, as the book progressed, I never truly felt as though the reader was provided with an over-abundance of *in-depth* detail in regard to what made each MC tick.

Instead, we got way too much bean trivia, leaving me with the feeling that the MC's were only really getting to know one another on a very shallow surface level, while being *told* what felt like a bare minimum what their motivations and dreams in life might entail.

The one discussion-which-was-never-had that made me beyond mental was the fact that, even when their relationship started taking a more serious turn, Aubrey never asked Blake if he was gay, bi, out, closeted, deathly fearful of the public finding out, etc.

SAY WHAT??? Right?

They also never addressed the fact that Blake would be leaving England in a few weeks. Never. Not once. Olympic-level avoidance there.

Don't get me wrong, though. The story had a decent bit of humor and was well on its way to being the book that I hoped it might be, but with Aubrey turning (too?) needy, Blake at times being almost aloof, and the *two* break ups, I found myself much less compelled by the last half of the story.

I'd rate this story at around 3.5 stars and recommend it to readers who don't really *need* to have the MC's living out of one another's pockets before saying their ILY's.

This was a cute, sexy, steamy romance between a too old for his age book seller, Aubrey and Blake, an American actor.

Aubrey is grouchy, and cynical, and reminds me a bit of Blacks Books, where he would prefer not to have customers coming in an reading the damn books.

But, Blake falls for him and he for him, and they have Oral Sex in the time that if this were a straight novel, the girl would still be swooning in the distance for her crush. Perhaps gay love moves faster? I was a bit surprised by that. This is followed by very detailed more gay sex later on.

There is a sort of love triangle with a bitchy ex, and Aubrey wondering what happened there.

I think he is older than 23, which seems much too young to be so old and crotchety, as I think I have mentioned before.

So, it was a good enough book, and if you are looking for a gay romance, with lots of sex, and angst, and mooning, then this is the book for you.

<em>Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review. </em>

I have some feelings about this book. Right off the bat, did not like the writing or characters. They felt juvenile and there were way to many pop culture references. It was easy to see that the author wanted to connect with people on social media (ahem tik tok) through this book and it came off stunted and lame. I wish I liked this book, I liked the premise and the character archetypes that were promised but the outcome was just less than satisfactory. This definitely will not be a new queer classic.

When Audrey and Blake run into each other Audrey doesn't expect much. Sure he notices that Blake's attractive, I mean he does have eyes, but he does not expect anything to come of it. Things definitely get interesting when the keep running into each other, and neither one really knows what's going to happen next.

Overall this book wasn't bad. It WAS very steamy, which I was not expecting tbh, not that I'm complaining. The time they spent together was interesting, getting to see them overcome certain obstacles together was also interesting. I just felt like there was something missing?

I had a few(not that big) issue, one that really bugged me, the author mentions a cat exactly twice in the book, but it's never named, or described, or ever mentioned again. There are times where the MC leaves and there is not a single mention of what happens to the cat? I *know* it's not that big of a deal but it really did bug me. Also, from what we saw Audrey really wasn't that great of a friend which is definitely something I do not really like. He's a bit selfish tbh, but not necessarily to the point where I hated his character, I was more just mildly annoyed by it.

All that being said, this was a super quick read and it was pretty enjoyable, I just did not LOVE it though it was pretty good.

Thank you Netgalley and Entangled Publishing for the opportunity to review! All thoughts are my own.

Review will be posted on my Instagram on or before August 9th.

This was very sweet, surprisingly hot in places, engagingly well-written with loveable characters and a predictable HEA.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I have received an ARC of this book by NetGalley, and Entangled Publishing and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review. The Pub date of the book is August 9th. This review will be posted on my Goodreads, Facebook page and Instagram.
In overall, I liked the story, but I confess that everything happened to fast from the beginning and without coherent explanations to reinforce this speed between the characters romance.
The potential is all in the story, but it was not well built by the author. The characters are wonderful and with unique and distinct personalities - including the secondary ones. But the potential presented lacked a bit of development. I like clichés so it's not because it exists, it's because it's hard to understand where the characters' feelings are going.
Aubrey is peculiar, but as expressive as he is, he does not express what is necessary for us to understand his side, and Blake, he is very absent. It's hard to understand a character who doesn't have much perspective on the story and makes us feel a lack of explanations or points of view. We know more about what his body looks like than what Blake is - and when we know more, it's in the end and a little rushed.
Big problems were explained very quickly towards the end of the book, and they didn't seem to be that big anymore, like the debt and store situation. Loose ends.
Personally, I thought Aubrey was wonderful going to America, but I felt that the trip was a bit...unnecessary, considering that it didn't make sense to me that they didn't meet up there. His debts didn't seem so big on travel expenses. And I mention this because it's a constant problem in Aubrey's life. As is Eli - which I really didn't like and didn't feel any kind of emotion in the past story between Eli and Aubrey. Very confused and poorly explained.
I liked the story, but I felt it was under-developed.
I'm sure that in future stories the author will evolve and show all this growth in new stories.

DNF @ 59%. There are things I like about the book, which is why I kept reading - the quiet, sort-of-cranky bookstore owner, the famous actor who meets someone who couldn’t care less about his fame - but a little over halfway through and I’m sad that I seem to have missed the part where they “fell in love” or at least got more comfortable with each other before deciding to go on an (impromptu) weekend trip. I like a little more build-up, or a slowed down getting-to-know-you period that comes after a quick start, but it felt like we were off to the races and I got left behind because I couldn’t catch up.

I have mixed feelings about this book. At times I really enjoyed reading it but there were also too many things that sadly didn't do it for me. 2.5-3 stars.

I liked the beginning of the book where we get to know Aubrey, a grumpy and pretty anxious bookseller who meets Blake, an actor in a movie that is filmed next to Aubreys bookshop. Their instant (sexual) attraction felt real and relatable and I didn't mind how fast everything developed at first - I loved their first date and was looking forward to reading about how their relationship developed from this initial attraction to romantic feelings but sadly I didn't really feel their romantic connection for the rest of the book which made the jealously plot/the whole thing with Aubreys ex-boxfriend unbelievable and to be honest it felt really unnecessary for him to be "the bad guy" of the story. I would have loved to read about Aubrey having complicated feelings towards his ex and his friend/his ex's new boyfriend but instead it felt liked forced drama which annoyed me quite a lot. I also wish Aubreys character (development) would have been a little less passive and surface-level.

Blake sadly felt underdeveloped to me as well - his only trait seemed to be "wanting to make Aubrey happy/helping him succeed with his bookshop" and his interests (poetry & photography) felt like they were only there to further the plot and/or show something he has in common with Aubrey. I also didn't really like how brushed over his forced coming-out and difficult relationship with his family were. If you're going to write this type of coming-out narrative at least deal with it properly, please. I don't want to read about queer character's pain that is only there for plot reasons.

I really loved the premise but sadly didn't really like how the story was executed.

Thanks to Netgalley and Entangled Publishing for the ARC. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

(⭑⭑⭑) An Unexpected Kind of Love is an achillean love story about a very stressed bookseller and a very charismatic actor.
Aubrey Barnes (I loved the name, by the way) is the owner of an indie bookshop in London. He claims to love his quiet life, but the truth is: his bookshop is struggling and he has not moved on from his ex, Eli. His life seems even more chaotic when a film company starts to film in his Soho street, and turns everything into chaos. Between all this mess, Aubrey meets the charismatic and distractingly hot American actor, Blake Sinclair.
Did I like this novel? Yes! It was entertaining and cute, and I love reading queer novels by queer authors. However, I know how I like my romance novels and unfortunately, this was missing some details.
First, the writing was great and you know I love some first person narrator, but sometimes I felt like the only thing Aubrey was narrating was how stressed he was. Like, mood. But also, I felt like Aubrey's narration was too focused in how stressed he was and I wish there were more developed into the scenes. Like, Aubrey tells us what is happening, instead of showing us.
Second, but this is a more personal opinion: I didn't like how fast their relationship was moving. Even for a Romance book, it felt too fast and quick for me. But, again, this is more personal, as I usually love very slow-burn romances. also, the ex was so annoying but I guess that was the point, so I only wanted to say I hated Eli.
The prompt was very original and fun, and the book was very short. Even though I believe there were some key elements that I would change, so this would be the kind of story I usually obsess about, this was a cute read.

Thank you #NetGallery for the opportunity to read this book in exchange of an honest review. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

In this queer rom-com, grumpy bookseller Aubrey is out of sorts about filming on his street. He is indignant when they want to film in his shop but finds himself drawn to actor Blake Sinclair and to the money that could prop up his struggling business. I especially loved Aubrey's pessimism and dry humor, which also happen to be some of my finer qualities. I was less attached to Blake because, without his own POV, he almost came across as too-perfect wish fulfillment. I liked him, but I didn't feel connected to him in the same way.

The actual romance went at an alarming pace for my poor demi-aroace sensibilities, with the physical intimacy kicking off on the first day of meeting with minimal conversation, and the feels crash-landing not long after. I think their heart-eyes infatuation was adorable, it just came upon me so fast that I adjusted much slower than the characters to the new development. And that's my own identity rearing up, not a problem with the characters or their choices. Of their romantic moments, a public serenade after a fight sucker-punched me with its cuteness.

This is a lovely, fluffy whirlwind with a high steam factor and a lot of bean facts (a niche genre, to be sure). If you're looking for your next contemporary mlm fix, look no further. Thanks to Entangled and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this advanced copy, out 8/9.

Stone has struck a perfect balance of romance, cynicism, and magical realism in this charming comedy. Bookseller Aubrey is trying to keep his family legacy alive as the latest proprietor of Barnes Books. Thanks to some serendipitous events, his shop is selected as the perfect setting for a movie production that's swinging into his London neighborhood. This puts him in the vicinity of one of the film's actors, Blake. As the cameras roll, another story takes place off-screen. Fans of every Hugh Grant rom-com and appreciators of Nick Hornby's original High Fidelity (okay, maybe the John Cusack movie too) will find the charm of this story.. The characters are well-developed and the supporting cast is strong in this one.

hmm, I'm not usually a fan of any type of romance novel where either the MC or love interest is a celebrity. They usually come across as self-insert fanfiction in my opinion, so they're always a hard no for me. Even though I knew this about myself, I decided to give this book a try anyway... now I know I need to just continue to follow my instincts.

The writing is all over the place and a bit repetitive. To be honest, there were times where I just skimmed paragraphs because it was full of absolute nonsense not relevant to the plot. It's fine to describe certain things and places so they can be more vivid in the reader's mind, but the author went a bit overboard with it. When in doubt just keep the prose simple and to the point.

Aubrey is not likeable and is a bit of a whiny grump. I really didn't find much that I liked about him. Blake was no better; he was one-note and a cliche of a love interest. Don't even get me started on the sex scene only 11% into the book... what even was that? I had to honestly go back a few pages to make sure I hadn't missed anything because it was so out of place. I am not a fan of "love" based solely on sexual attraction and that's what their entire relationship seemed to be based on.

I wanted to thoroughly enjoy this book but it just wasn't my thing.

Thank you to NetGalley, Entangled Publishing, and Hayden Stone for the ARC of An Unexpected Kind of Love. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

This book was such a fun romance that got me out a reading slump at the perfect time. If you’re looking for a bookseller romance, with a grumpy sunshine protagonist with the right amount of spice this book is perfect! Also, Blake and Aubrey have a great balance of differences that make their growing chemistry and growth as people enjoyable to read.

Stone does an excellent job at covering a wide range of diverse topics from death of a parent, internalized homophobia, possessive partners, and more to name a few while providing appropriate content warning to enhance the reading too!

Overall, while the middle could have had faster pacing at times this book is a great rainy day or beach read!

First, let me just tell you that I devoured this book in one sitting after receiving a copy yesterday. It’s that engaging and I was pleasantly surprised to find out that this is also the debut work of the author! Yay!

This story is basically the gay Notting Hill, and who doesn’t love Notting Hill? I mean, tell me, who doesn’t love Notting Hill??! Right? We got the hipster, anti-social, struggling bookstore owner Aubrey Barnes meeting a C-list American actor Blake Sinclair who’s filming in Soho, and we have a crew of crazy and chaotic side characters!

I loved the series of meet-cute between Aubrey and Blake. There was immediate chemistry between them. The first half of the story was quite engaging and with the right pacing as well. It was told through Aubrey’s perspective only, and I really liked his dry sense of humor, his banter with his friends, and just the way he interacts with Blake. It was just adorable.

Aside from our main characters, I really enjoyed Lily, who’s apparently Aubrey’s best friend and confidante. She’s just very interesting and mysterious at the same time. I’d definitely read a book about her if there’s one in the future.

If I were to nitpick the story, I’d say the scene at the tube station didn’t quite work for me. I won’ spoil it, but the setting of this book is very Gen-Z, right? We have social media, and almost everybody has cellphones, so it’s weird that Blake didn’t even think about the repercussions of his gesture and the way he reacted after it came out; I’m like – surely, he knew that this would come out. Also, the grand romantic gesture of Aubrey flying to New York was a bit cliché, but I love cliché, so that was okay. After that, the whole thing felt just a wee bit rushed. It’s still very much enjoyable, but I wished we’ve gotten more before the time skip in the epilogue.

Overall, this was a very feel-good romance. It has solid characters, the story was very engaging, and it has a happy ending, so I’m one happy bookworm!

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars